Scaramouche

 

 

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Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) presents "SCARAMOUCHE" (1952) (115 min/Color) -- Starring Stewart Granger, Eleanor Parker, Janet Leigh, Mel Ferrer, Henry Wilcoxon, Nina Foch, Richard Anderson, Robert Coote, Lewis Stone & Elisabeth Risdon

Directed by George Sidney

Who ever thought director George Sidney known for his musicals would be directing two of my favorite swashbuckling films. George Sidney with "The 3 Musketeers," and "Scaramouche" from Rafael Sabatini have superb direction. Both films have the quickness of light grace and the rhythm to match some of the most amazing choreographic swordplay ever filmed.

Stewart Granger and Mel Ferrer are both excellent. The entire cast presents the film while avoiding any slip into comedy and parody. The highly improbable story is presented seriously and here lies the beauty of this film. I must admit being a little biased as I have always been a Stewart Granger fan.

Victor Young's colorful score is a beautiful mixture of various themes, punctuating the proceedings with the required dash and eloquence. If swashbuckling romantic adventures are the kind of action films you admire, you'll have a grand time with this one. Grade A production values from top to bottom and directed at a fast clip despite its two hour running time.

"Scaramouches" is probably the best fencing movie ever made. Only "Don Juan" with Errol Flynn comes close, because of the fencing school sequences. Here it is the training of Andre (Granger) as he prepares to destroy the Marquis (Ferrer), especially in scenes with John Dehner as his first trainer. But if it was solely for the fencing it probably would not be as popular as it is today

BIOS:
1. George Sidney [Director]
Date of Birth: 4 October 1916 - Long Island City, New York
Date of Death: 5 May 2002 - Las Vegas, Nevada

2. Stewart Granger [aka: James Lablanche Stewart]
Date of Birth: 6 May 1913 - Kensington, London, England, UK
Date of Death: 16 August 1993 - Santa Monica, California

3. Eleanor Parker [aka: Eleanor Jean Parker]
Date of Birth: 26 June 1922 - Cedarville, Ohio
Date of Death: Still Living

4. Janet Leigh [aka: Jeanette Helen Morrison]
Date of Birth: 6 July 1927 - Merced, California
Date of Death: 3 October 2004 - Beverly Hills, California

5. Mel Ferrer [aka: Melchor Gaston Ferrer]
Date of Birth: 25 August 1917 - Elberon, New Jersey
Date of Death: 2 June 2008 - Santa Barbara, California

Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 5 Stars
Performance: 5 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 5 Stars
Overall: 5 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]

Total Time: 115 min on DVD ~ Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) ~ (07/01/2003)

Film is a`great story but filmed in San Francisco. The out door shots are done in Golden Gate Park.

Scaramouche has possibly the most beautiful Technicolor cinematography of any MGM film. It's just gorgeous! The film, of course, is a delight in the great Errol Flynn tradition, but with Janet Leigh and Eleanor Parker, it's primarily a feast for the eyes. Incidentally, this is the only film I know of that gives an accurate representation of commedia dell'arte, and the theatrical scenes are a delight.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Best Swordfights in movies ever!!!
One of the few instances where the movie is far better than the book which inspired it, this version of 'Scaramouche' has some of the most fantastic sword fights ever put on... Read more

Published on Dec 11 2003 by Andrés C. Gaeris

5.0 out of 5 stars Scaramouche
Loved every moment of this film. Glorious story and plot based (with artistic license) on the Rafael Sabatini novel of the same name. Read more

Published on Aug 5 2003 by Glenn Hirooka

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful tale
It's all about the story. Sabatini used to crank these out - Scaramouche, Captain Blood, The Black Swan - and they were great as books and they have made great movies. Read more

Published on July 26 2003 by Kaleberg

3.0 out of 5 stars SWORD PLAY AND SWASHBUCKLING - MGM STYLE
"Scaramouche" is the somewhat convoluted tale of a womanizing rogue, Andrea Moreau (Stewart Granger) who courts a gypsy player, Lenore (Eleanor Parker) but ultimately... Read more

Published on July 2 2003 by Nix Pix

5.0 out of 5 stars "On your word as a fraud and a fake?"
What a great movie! Lesser known than many other great swashbucklers, "Scaramouche" is nonetheless a top-notch production in every way. Read more

Published on Mar 31 2003 by CodeMaster Talon

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply the Best
This picture has the best sword fight showed at a screen play, this is the best picture of Stewart Granger, don't miss it.

Published on Feb 22 2003 by Pedro L. Michel Gomez

4.0 out of 5 stars The Movie is Great; The Book, Boring!
Like one of the reviewers, I happen to have also read Sabatini's novel. It is true that the movie did not follow the book closely. But why should it? Read more

Published on Sep 30 2002 by Saw-Lots-Of-Movies-Read-Lots-O...

2.0 out of 5 stars Big Dissapointment
Having just finished Sabatini's classic adventure story, I really looked forward to seeing how Hollywood put the story on film. What a dissapointment! Read more

Published on May 2 2002 by Marco Antonio Abarca

4.0 out of 5 stars Be good to her
Pronunciation: (scare-a-moosh-ay)
When you go through life thinking that there are few classic fight scenes that compare to modern fight sequences, its always humbling to be... Read more

Published on April 11 2002 by Adam Hunnicutt

5.0 out of 5 stars Let's hear it for the Dancing Cavalier!
I'm amazed. I guess you really DO learn something new every day!

First off, let me say I have always loved this movie. Read more

Published on Jan 10 2002 by lark1964

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